There are still three months, Saint-Denis was not to host the final of the Champions League. But since the Russian invasion in Ukraine, there was no longer any question that the summit of European club football would not be played in Saint Petersburg this Saturday evening. It is therefore at the Stade de France that Real Madrid and Liverpool FC will meet, an enticing meeting for football fans but a logistical and security challenge for the public authorities. They only had a few weeks to prepare for the event instead of the eighteen months provided for in UEFA’s specifications.
The main cause for concern: the 30,000 to 40,000 Liverpool supporters without tickets expected tomorrow in Paris, determined to follow their team as closely as possible, even without being able to enter the stadium. A passionate red wave that sometimes risks overflowing. “It is clear that an English club, with the reputation of their supporters, is not quite the same to manage as a Paris SG match”recognizes a police source. “This is clearly the most sensitive point in terms of security in this finaladmits a source close to the organizers. It’s quite unique to manage. To say that we are worried, maybe not, because we have put in place what is necessary, but extremely vigilant, that, yes.
To try to contain them, the choice fell on the Parisian artery of the Cours de Vincennes, in the 12th arrondissement, the axis which connects the Place de la Nation and the Porte de Vincennes, a “fan zone” which will be open from Saturday at the beginning of the afternoon. The place will be able to accommodate up to 44,000 people according to the police headquarters. It will be dedicated to fans but not only, the idea being that “those who want to party can do so”, explains a source close to the sports authorities. The Liverpool club will be the organizer of this fan zone, the security of which is provided by the French Football Federation (FFF), with the police taking over outside the zone.
This choice of the Parisian artery does not only make people happy. “We were asked but we weren’t really given a choiceregrets the entourage of the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. We were against doing that there and we are very, very afraid of what will happen..
A strike on the RER which serves the Stade de France
On the Spanish side, a fan zone is planned not far from the Stade de France, in the Legion of Honor park, in Saint-Denis, an area reserved for supporters holding tickets and open from the start of the afternoon on Saturday. ‘There really isn’t a subject with the people of Madrid, there will be a bit more than the ticket holders but not a lot’, explains a source close to the government. Some 20,000 supporters of the “Merengue” have their ticket for the Stade de France, the equivalent more or less of the tickets obtained by the fans of the “Reds”.
In total, 6,800 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters are mobilized by the Paris police headquarters to ensure the security of the various hot spots of this final. In the perimeter around the Stade de France, from 6 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages are prohibited in public spaces, in establishments open to the public or in drinking establishments. Alcohol consumption is also prohibited at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports.
Finally, it should be noted that the traffic will be “disturbed” on the RER B, which serves the Stade de France, by a drivers’ strike. Led by the CGT, FO, Unsa and La Base unions, the movement intends “strong impact” the Champions League final to denounce “the lack of staff maintained for several years by the management of the RER”. On the RER B, the RATP plans “on average 2 out of 3 trains with a break in the interconnection [à la station Gare du Nord] and 4 out of 5 trains between 5 p.m. and the end of service, in order to provide service to the Stade de France”specifies the SNCF.